Discussions By Condition: Medical Stories

I am so fed up with doctors!

Noone will listen to me. Noone will take me seriously. I have spent thousands of dollars and still after 2 yrs of trying to find the cause of my problems, I still have no answer. I have 4 drs I have to see now and it is like they just dont care. They will not listen, they will not return calls. I am fed up and I dont know what to do. I have horrible headaches, daily, dizziness for a year and a half. Does not have to do with turning my head or movement, it just comes on real bad from nowhere, and when the dizzy part goes, i feel off for about an hour. My personality has taken a 100% turn,which my family and friends can all attest to. I am short tempered, moody, losing my memory bad, easily confused, irritable. I never sleep. i will sleep about 4 or 5 hrs a night, but dont go to bed till like 4 or 5 am. I have tried 6 different antidepresents and none work. Test found a 9 mm pineal cyst. I have been told this is not causing any of my symptoms, and my neurologist just will not do anything further. I have heart palpitations all the time. I have had this off and on for years, but over the past 5 or 6 months it has gotten very bad. Lasts for hours. I get dizzy, i have almost passed out twice. Told I have PVCs and cant do nothing. I was put on Topral XL, which is causing my blood pressure to dip to 90/60s! i get so tired and feel like i'm gonna pass out. my cardiologist says either live with pvcs or the low blood pressure. I dont want either. Had echo, stress test, excersise stress test, i had a bad reaction to the medication they used to induce my heart to think it was exercising, they say panic attack.. i dont think that was it. Exercise stress test my heart rate did not change much at all when exercised fully. Neck and back pain like crazy. Was told my curvature in my neck is so messed up, almost straight, and i have bone spurs. I believe this maybe why i get such bad headahces, my neuro and pain dr say no. Lower back pain L5-S1 bulging disc found 2 yrs ago on CT. I have this pain all the time. I can't bend, stand, walk, sit for long times. 2 wks ago it has gotten to like a sciatica pain, it is excruiating. i begged my pain dr to give me something, he said no, i dont have insurance. i asked if it could be my SI joint, he said it does not matter cuz noone handles that where I live. (large city). I am in desperate pain. I can only stand for about an hour. Now my right leg and foot hurt real bad. I can not get my neuro, my pain dr, my cardio dr to listen to me. They blow me off, send me away in tears. I am in constant pain, or discomfort. What can i do? How do i get them to listen to me and fix these things. I have had 2 injections in my back and neck (even though they are now saying that isn't my problem at all), and it worked for just a short while, then the pain was right back. I was told the nerve block in my neck would work for up to 3 months. I just found out that it was medication to work only FOUR OR FIVE hours! I am so frustrated. So frustrated. Please someone help. Now i'm worried about this brain cyst, since they dont care. I hear my heartbeat in my ear so bad, it keeps me awake it is driving me nuts. I can feel my pulse in my neck like crazy. My feel swell up. I have had TSH, liver tests, (oh yeah, I have horrible stomach pains that are so bad I can't stand up, ct was fine except for multiple liver cysts that were not there 2 yrs ago). they say that isn't causing my pain either. my iron is fine. I do not think they have done cardio blood testing though. I know they won't listen if i suggest it anyway. they say my heart is fine, i am too young they say. whatever

11 Replies:

Don't try getting anyone to listen. A doctor may have all the medical knowledge in the world, but if s/he isn't willing to listen to patients, that knowledge is all but null. A doctor who isn't willing to acknowledge you as a team-mate in your own care is worthless outside of contributing literature to the medical community. S/he should have stayed in research.I wouldn't spend an iota more time trying to convince anyone to listen-- especially not a doctor who is paid to be my advocate and guide. I would advise you to simply walk out of that office and into another one.Keep going until you find someone who is willing to investigate every option. S/he ought to know by now that pidgeonholing, in ANY situation, is not only ethically wrong, but also logically fallacious. Finally, you might consider moving to a different place; reach out to volunteer and research organizations.Good Luck

Please consider trying an alternative approach to treating your illnesses. When Western docs thow up their hands, a naturopathic or Oriental Medical doc will listen and often come up with a diagnosis. I often see patients who have completely given up and have tried all avenues and see me as a last resort...and they often can't believe how much acupuncture helps! Naturopathic docs and acupuncturists usually have more training in nutritional therapy (Dr. Andrew Weil has professed to have had only a couple hours instruction in nutrition in Medical School!). They are trained to look at illness and the body differently. They might really offer you some help. Since you are paying out of pocket, ask if a practitioner offers a sliding scale fee, or find a school nearby. I am not saying you should disregard Western diagnosis, but rather try this as an adjunct treatment. Best wishesDOM

I have considered that. Actually my pain in my back go so bad yesterday, I called my Neuro and demanded more testing, cuz it is shooting into my butt and leg/foot, and occasionally in my rectal area. He listened and met me at the ER. He had me do an MRI. While i was in there, he left to attend to another patient at another hospital. When the tests all came in the dr at the ER said my neuro told me to go home and total bed rest until monday, and come see him first thing monday morning. He wouldnt tell me what they found. All i could get out of him was there was some deformity in my lower back, but didn't want to ellaborate. Today, my feet hurt so bad I can't barely walk across the house. I really hope they figure this out. thanks for your advice!

The reason I first got interested in becoming an Oriental Medical practitioner was when I had severe sciatica over 15 years ago. The docs just gave me muscle relaxants, which I promptly threw up. A friend suggested acupuncture, and I decided it was worth a try. I had SEVERE pain. After just one treatment the pain was 80% better, and after just one more the pain was GONE. It was such a dramatic experience - my condition was very acute, and I think that is why I had such quick and dramatic results. But it works for even chronic conditions. What really made me interested inTCM was the fact that my acupuncturist asked me more questions than any medical doc had ever asked. He took a long time with me and covered ALL issues besides just the pain. He was very compassionate and this is what I feel makes a HUGE difference. There are truly many different paths to wellness. And I wish you luck in yours! Best wishesDOM

I too would be walking out that door and not look back.Find a dr that will listen to you .You know your body and its telling you something is wrong .And if they dont want to hear it,your wasting your time and money. I was wondering besides your back problem if you've seen a Rhuemy Dr. ? Cause some of what your saying sounds maybe like a thyroid problem ,and also if you do go see him make a list of everything thats wrong and he/she wont stop till they get to the bottom of it. I wissh you all the best of luck and please if doc says back surgery get a 2nd ,3rd and 4th opnion. I had back surgery with hardware and it has ruined my life.

My lower back still hurts so bad, feels like something is pinched, and is causing severe pain I can't walk. My dr did an MRI and it showed ddd, bone spurs and bulged disc. he said it is not pinching the nerve, but may be pressing on it. I is worse today, I can't walk across the room. My feet hurt really bad to, and I am not hardly even on them. He gave me Lyrica and it is just putting me to sleep, I have not noticed any relief yet. Could this be from the disc and spurs pushing on it? What can i do to stop this. It has been 3 wks now, and I can't care for my kids. I have noone to help me. I have no insurance. He is going to do an EMG Thursday and a bone scan on Monday, and blood tests for lupus, etc. I feel like electricity is running through my body, it is driving me crazy. It wakes me up from sleep and lasts all day. it feels like i am sucking on a 9 volt battery. I am so fed up I can't stand it anymore. I feels like the sciatic nerve. It is L5-S1 level off to the right and going down. Hard to take care of kids when you can't walk. I'm getting so depressed.

For your back it could be definately pinched and possibly a tear in your disk can be very painful tooIf your getting pain in your rear and going down your leg thats sciatica nerve .You could try the therapy of Vax D or an inversion table ,they both stretch your back out and put things back where they should be,but if you have a tear in your disc I dont think it will help that. I would ask for a copy of your reports.All of them you can get from the hospital or wherever you had your tests done but keep copies for yourself.And seek some other help. I would definately go see a rhuematologist as well and get all your blood work done.Good Luck Dawn

Your dizzness may be vertigo I know how fustrated you are I feel the same way. Dont give up though! Try to see another doctor and ask if these are symtoms of vertigo. Some time you have to give them a starting point.:)

One of my friend, a cosmetic doctor, told me that he got his pay by good service performance, by the end outcome which satisfied his clients. He also asked me that why patients never made same requests to other medical specialists for their payments. Dentists have to make good works on each denture to satisfy individual patients. Ophthalmolohists have to assure their operations do improve their patients seeing better. They can't afford any mistakes. Why we pay sugeons or oncologists before we get cured? If there is no cure, what are they charging us for? Medical treatments may be the only business nowadays which based on guessing. ( An articlle on Time megazine) Someday in the future doctors has to collect their payments when they do really cure the sickness like other business do to their clients.

I have a pineal tumor almost 9m. Have headaces, cant sleep,dizzy, lost some vision,sick when I wake up. Sleep about 4 hours. My head throbs when I lay down to sleep.I was falling alot when the found it on a MrI. I have a MrI every 90 days, to check on it . Glands in my neck are swelling now for 60 days. They say It is 2 cyst. I ve had tumor breast and overy taken 2year ago . family has cancer sisters mother. They have the gene. We just wait for who knows When to take it out . I cant even think right, and forget everything. So far no cancer in ,thank god , I was on cancer drugs for lupus in the l990. Maybe that was a good thing. But now all I can do it leave it up to them . and go in when I cant take any more. Doc, say come in when you cant look up any more, then we will take it out. But Iam live, and doing ok. Now what did I just say , I cant remember. Still trying with the docs. not giving up, one day at a time, at night one hour at a time.

I think right now you need benzodiazepines to simply lower your anxiety. Then tackle one problem at a time. I know your pain, i was in a car accident, and now have extreme back pain, but they can give me all the percocet they want, nothing helps!